The valorization of wood derived from thinning operations in tropical plantations represents an alternative to enhance the sustainability and profitability of forest production systems. This study evaluated the hygroscopic, physical, and machining properties of 13-year-old Simarouba amara Aubl. thinning wood obtained from a plantation established in the Peruvian Amazon. Two planting spacings (2 × 2 m and 3 × 3 m) and three longitudinal stem positions (base, middle, and apex) were analyzed using a factorial design and generalized linear mixed models. Planting density and longitudinal position significantly influenced (p < 0.05) most of the evaluated properties. The saturated moisture content increased from 96.17% at the base to 135.42% at the apex, whereas basic density decreased from 0.45 to 0.30 g cm−3. Volumetric shrinkage ranged from 10.19% to 14.81%, and the dimensional stability index varied between 1.66 and 1.91. The first principal component (PC1) explained 98.4% of the total variance and clearly differentiated the treatments. The wood exhibited excellent performance in planing and molding, good performance in drilling, and fair performance in turning, indicating strong potential for the manufacture of higher value-added products and for sustainable utilization in tropical plantation forests.
Microbial inoculants such as Trichoderma have been proposed as sustainable tools to improve seedling quality in coffee nurseries; however, their effectiveness may vary according to formulation and genotype. This study evaluated three treatments: a solid Trichoderma formulation (1 kg m−3 of substrate) based on a multispecies consortium (T. harzianum, T. asperellum, and T. viride; 5 × 109 conidia g−1), a liquid formulation of T. harzianum (1 × 108 CFU mL−1; 1 L m−3 of substrate), and a non-inoculated control, using three Coffea arabica varieties (Catimor, Marsellesa, and Gran Colombia) under controlled nursery conditions. A linear mixed model was applied, considering variety and inoculant type as fixed effects and replicates as random effects. The results show that the biostimulant response is strongly modulated by the variety × inoculant interaction. The solid formulation was superior in promoting the expansion of the photosynthetic apparatus, increasing leaf area by 24.6%. In turn, the liquid formulation optimized structural vigor, increasing stem diameter by 17.3% and reducing slenderness by 13.1%. Inoculation reduced the lignification index by 10.4%, favoring dynamic vegetative growth. These improvements were integrated into the Dickson Quality Index, which reached values of 0.41–0.70, greatly exceeding the critical threshold of 0.20 for medium- to high-quality seedlings. It is concluded that Trichoderma acts as a physiological compensator that harmonizes plant architecture, although its efficacy depends on specific compatibility with the genotype, which is essential for ensuring the successful establishment of coffee plants under field conditions.